Photos and content by Traci Henning-Kolberg There's something undeniably alluring about old cemeteries. The mausoleums serving their function as elaborate little houses for the deceased, the marble tombstones with their tender epitaphs, the obelisks reaching to the sky, and trees that create vast areas of muted light, an ambience that feels appropriate to a park dedicated to the dearly departed. On a muggy July evening ARCH of Fort Wayne held their Dearly Departed Tour in the evocative Lindenwood cemetery. This isn't the first time they have done this tour, but rather than focusing on the people buried in the cemetery, the focus this time was on the craftsmanship, symbolism, and style of the monuments erected for those who have passed. The tour began with the Classic Revival Mausoleum. "This is architecture that looks back to a Classical past. The roots of Classicism are in ancient Greek and Roman architecture - in the temple architecture of ancient Greece and in the religious, military and civic architecture of the Roman Empire. The style comprises a range of conventional forms, notably columns (known as orders) each with fixed proportions and ornaments (especially Doric, Ionic and Corinthian)." Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Indeed, this is a lovely mausoleum, but it was it's Art Nouveau neighbor that stole the show for me. It seemed to curve and flow in a way that completely opposed it's more rigidly structured neighbor. "Art Nouveau was aimed at modernizing design, seeking to escape the eclectic historical styles that had previously been popular. Artists drew inspiration from both organic and geometric forms, evolving elegant designs that united flowing, natural forms resembling the stems and blossoms of plants. The emphasis on linear contours took precedence over color, which was usually represented with hues such as muted greens, browns, yellows, and blues. The movement was committed to abolishing the traditional hierarchy of the arts, which viewed the so-called liberal arts, such as painting and sculpture, as superior to craft-based decorative arts." is the definition given by The Art Story Foundation. The next monument was a step away from the mausoleums and was done in the Egyptian Obelisk style. This spire is supposed to make one think of a ray of sunlight and rises 25 feet into the sky. Unlike other obelisks in the cemetery that have the family members buried around it, this one has a vault underneath where the family was laid to rest together. Next to the obelisk and the mausoleums at the beginning of the tour, the next style was completely unexpected and decidedly enchanting. Tree stump tombstones were designed to show a life cut short. Unlike the popular choice of marble for tombstones, these monuments were carved from limestone. These stumps were also loaded with symbolism. Another way of showing a life cut short was represented in the unfinished monument. The people the tombstone was meant for actually sit behind it and not in front. It wouldn't be wrong to think that the stone mason was abruptly interrupted before he could finish his work as that is exactly what it is meant to represent. The last gravesite I visited was one that was added to the tour simply for the craftsmanship displayed in making it. The shrouded tomb shows off the skill of the stone mason in making stone look like drapes of fabric. The last two grave markers we were shown were not on the tour at all, but the nice man we were talking to explained that they were unique in the cemetery and we shouldn't miss them. The first was a simple, well worn gravestone with a weeping willow and a dove carved into the top. This is the only tombstone in the cemetery that has a weeping willow, a sign of sorrow and mourning. The dove is a Christian sign of the Holy Spirit, also interpreted as purity and devotion. The second one, called a crib, was perhaps the most heart stirring marker I had seen on the tour. This one was very well preserved for being over 150 years old, and held the small, beloved body of Anna Lydia Evans, aged four months, five days before she died. As a parent walking through this cemetery with my two sons, I could only imagine the grief her parents must have felt for her loss. Her marker is still here, her resting place protected from the view of the street by one of the many massive trees in Lindenwood Cemetery.
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Voices from Purdue university Fort Wayne StudentsThe hope is to gather many voices, perspectives and styles on where and how Public History works locally. More information about Public History at Purdue Fort Wayne. Archives
October 2018
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